Grade 11 Regular (Focus on Hawaiian, Pacific and World Literature)
Summer Reading List

Students are to choose one book from the list to read. All students will be tested on their choice at the start of the school year in their English classes. Books may be borrowed from the state library system or purchased from the local bookstores. New and used paperback books may be purchased online. Two such sites are http://www.campusi.com and Amazon.com

Hawaiian Son: The Life and Music of Eddie Kamae. James D. Houston
Eddie Kamae, a leading force in the Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the past thirty years, has spent his life documenting and illuminating cultural traditions and old Hawaiian ways. Written by James D. Houston and interspersed with Eddie's recollections, Hawaiian Son charts the Hawaiian man's very personal odyssey across the backdrop of twentieth-century Hawai`i. Generously illustrated with historic photos and drawings, the 280 page book insightfully portrays in the influential kupuna, dancers, musicians, and storytellers who have guided Eddie on his lifelong journey.
Herb Kawainui Kane, author of Ancient Hawai’i says, “It's a great read... the kind of story that speaks to all peoples everywhere. And the writing is superbly crafted.”

Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree and Other Stories, Albert Wendt[Amazon]
Albert Wendt is the author of five novels, two collections of short stories, and two volumes of poetry. Born in Samoa, Wendt has worked and traveled throughout the Pacific. He is presently a professor of English at the University of Hawai’i. This early collection of eight short stories and a novella is vintage Wendt. Stories convey the unease of traditional island community caught up in the rapid changes of the modern world. Wendt writes with enviable directness and with deep feeling: comedy and tragedy are often hard to distinguish as his characters struggle to come to terms with their changing world.

When the Shark Bites, Rodney Morales [Amazon]
“Rodney Morales is the author of The Speed of Darkness, a collection of short stories. He is also the editor of Ho'i Ho'i Hou: A Tribute to George Helm and Kimo Mitchell. He lives on O'ahu and teaches at the University of Hawai'i.

“Henry Rivera, one-time activist and now full-time construction worker, has just been evicted from his home in Waikiki and is forced to move to the Wai'anae coast. While in the midst of moving, Hank and his wife, Kanani, are approached by a young man who is researching the early years of Hawai'i's modern civil rights movement, which culminated in the rigorous protests surrounding the bombing of Kaho'olawe in 1976 and 1977. Hesitant at first, Henry and Kanani agree to talk about the past and their role in the movement. Vivid and sometimes painful memories surface, causing both to question their feelings of love and loyalty--not only for each other, but for their complex and sometimes competing heritages. Through the voices of Henry, Kanani, and the many others who populate this sprawling, passionate novel, Rodney Morales tells a thoroughly contemporary story of Hawai'i--one that addresses the realities of asserting one's culture in a multicultural world.”

Na Pua Ali’i o Kaua’i, Ruling Chiefs of Kaua’i. Frederick B. Wichman.[Amazon]
Na Pua Ali'i o Kaua'i presents the stories of the men and women who ruled the island of Kaua'i from its first settlement to the final rebellion against Kamehameha I's forces in 1824. Only fragments remain of the nearly two-thousand-year history of the people who inhabited Kaua'i before the coming of James Cook in 1778. Now scattered in public and private archives and libraries, these pieces of Hawai'i's precontact past were recorded in the nineteenth century by such determined individuals as David Malo, Samuel Kamakau, and Abraham Fornander. All known genealogical references to the Kaua'i ali'i nui (paramount chiefs) have been gathered here and placed in chronological order and are interspersed with legends of great voyages, bitter wars, courageous heroes, and passionate romances that together form a rich and invaluable resource. The stories of Kaua'i's ruling chiefs were passed from generation to generation in songs and narratives recited by trained storytellers. Genealogical references to the chiefs are interspersed with legends of sea voyages, wars, heroes and romances in this resource book.